Stones & Roses
by Autumn-trot
Summary: Steven Stone returns to the Hoenn region after a bit of soul searching with hopes of furthering his relationship with May. To his surprise, he has an unexpected rival. StevenxMay
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello! This is my first fanfic, I hope you enjoy ^-^; ! Steven x May

In this story, Steven would be 21 years old & May would be 18 years old.

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><p>It has been way too long since he last laid eyes on her. After a little bit of soul searching, Steven was back in the Hoenn region. Being relieved of his championship duties by a young trainer, he traveled the world in search of more rare stones. Of course it wasn't easy for him to leave, but he felt as though he had to. He wanted to while he still had the chance, he knew very well that his father wasn't going to live forever and one day he will inherit the company that would severely restrict his free time.<p>

Returning back to the pokemon league, he greeted all of his old friends who welcomed him with open arms. They ushered him towards the champion's room and told him, "You're in for a real surprise!" Then pushed him through the doors.

_What did they mean by that?_ The silver haired male scratched his head as he walked up towards the chair that was at the opposite end of the room. The chair was facing away from the doors and he wasn't sure if there was anyone sitting on it at all. _What happened? _He rubbed his chin with his two fingers, remembering the energetic young female who claimed his throne, she surely wouldn't be this silent when someone walked in. Inching closer towards the chair, he carefully peeked over to see who it was.

"S.S. DREAMIE!"

Horror consumed his face as he realized who it was.

"IS THAT THE LOOK I GET AFTER ALL THIS TIME?" The new champion got up from his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. His teal blue hair glistened as he flicked his bangs to the side and made a dramatic pose. "I would presume that you would at least be awe struck by my youthful appearance. After all, it's been quite a while since we last saw each other. I haven't aged a bit." He smiled, adjusting his white cap on his head.

Steven scoffed, smiling at his old friend. "Sorry, it was just that-" He paused, unable to hold in his laughter anymore at his friend's previous outburst. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and continued, "I was just expecting-"

Wallace, the new champion, cut him off with saying, "May?" A sly smirk rose on his pale pink lips as that name rolled off his tongue. "Well it did happen quite recently." He tapped his chin, as if trying to recall back something. "She wanted to try something new for a change so she gave me the cape and went back down to Slateport!"

A bit puzzled, Steven arched an eyebrow and asked, "Went back down to Slateport?"

"Oh yeah, you know. She wanted to try contests for a change instead of battling." He shrugged his shoulders. "She's actually quite good, so far she has three ribbons."

They were right, he was in for a real surprise. He would have never guessed that May would try her hand at contests, then again she did face a legendary pokemon who was on the verge of destroying the world. And she did save the world yet again by joining rayquaza and breaking a meteorite. _But why contests? _He presumed that she loved battling! She was so good at it, she tore down the elite four and his own team so quickly that the whole battle felt like a blur.

"You know, Stevie, she's at Lilycove right now preparing for another contest. You should go say hi to her. I hear she's staying at the pokemon center." Wallace broke him out of his thoughts, giving an encouraging smile.

"Thanks. I'll head over there now." He smiled, walking over towards the exit.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" Wallace rushed over towards Steven and stopped him right in his tracks. "Not even a hug or a pat on the back for your old bud? Gone for who knows HOW long - well no! I _know _how long, but that's irrelevant now. You've been gone for a long time and you're finally back. This is all I get?" He frowned, unhappy with the way his old friend was treating him. Now it was all about May, that was all that rock collector could even talk about in his letters. May, May, May! Arceus damn, if he loved her that much he shouldn't have left in the first place!

"I'm sorry Wallace, but I have to see May." For some reason he wanted to see the brunette, for some strange reason he couldn't stop thinking about her. He also felt a little hurt that she didn't bother telling him that she gave the championship title to Wallace and went off to do contests! They had been talking to each other occasionally, thanks to the updated pokenav. They would talk for hours on end, catching up on current events and even getting to know each other better. He couldn't recall a time when she even bothered to tell him that she wanted to become a coordinator! Why?

"Well, if you're going to see May I'm coming too." He patted him on the back, giving a small smile. He knew that his friend had developed a crush on May, even if he doesn't realize it yet. He would be more than happy to help him get together with her. "Come on, lets go." He ushered him out of the building and hopped onto Steven's skarmony who was called out earlier.

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><p>They arrived in Lilycove City fairly quickly, it wasn't too far from Ever Grande.<p>

"Pokemon center, right?" He asked, looking over at his teal haired friend who seemed to be pre-occupied by adoring fans thrusting papers and pens in his face to sign.

"Yeah, I'll catch up to you in a bit." He chuckled, surprised by how fast people recognized him. He waved his friend to go on without him as he didn't want to disappoint his fans.

Steven called back his skarmony and walked over towards the pokemon center, going through its double doors. To his surprise, finding May was really easy. She hasn't changed too much from when he last saw her. Those dazzling sapphire eyes were focused on her blaziken who seemed to be doing various poses. She was taller than before, probably almost the same height as him now. He continued to stare at her in admiration, smiling to himself. She no longer wore a bandana on her head, it was replaced with a ruby red ribbon that was striped white. Her normal outfit wasn't on her, but she still sported red by wearing a dress that shared the same shade as her ribbon. The dress went down to her mid lower thigh, but her legs weren't bare as he saw thin black fabric hugged them tightly.

"Hey May."

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard another male call her over. Following her movements, he saw that there was a green haired male who was taller than her just by a few mere inches grin and pat her on the head. Woah, the two were on good terms? Inching over closer, he saw that the grass head pulled out a pristine red rose and offered it to May who accepted it.

"Who the hell is he?" Steven accidentally blurted out loud, grabbing the attention of various strangers nearby. Unfortunately May and grasshead heard his little outburst as well, turning their heads to face him. Blushing brightly, he covered his mouth with his hand and looked away.

"Steven? Steven Stone?"

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><p>AN: Next chapter will be coming up soon ~<p>

Updated chapter 1 on Jan. 11 to fix a few grammar errors.


	2. Chapter 2

_That__'__s it, I__'__m dead. I__'__m screwed. _He stood there uncomfortably, unsure of what to do next. He knew May heard, she said his name out loud!

"Steven, are you okay?"

Oh no, she's making her way over towards him! He inhaled sharply, letting his arms rest to his side. Oh no, that didn't feel right. He crossed them over his chest. Yikes, he didn't feel comfortable having them like that either. He could feel himself sweating, that made him even more nervous. _No, take a deep breathes Steven. You can do this. She probably didn__'__t hear you say that. Maybe she just heard your voice. Yeah, just your voice! _He took deep breathes, trying to calm himself down. _Oh for the love of arceus, you look like damn idiot breathing in and out like this. _His eyes shifted from side to side, seeing that a few people were still staring at him. _Why are they staring? Just go back to your own business! _

He felt someone's fingers grip his right shoulder tightly, peering over he saw a slender hand. He was then shaken slightly.

"Steven!"

There she was, right in front of him looking concerned. "May," he managed to say. Numerous worries ran through his head. What else should he say? They haven't seen each other in person for years, should he say that she looks lovely? Yes! That's always the best thing to do, give a compliment to the lady. "You look stunning!" He gave a wide smile, attempting to act as if nothing happened before.

"Oh thank you!" She returned the smile, twirling her dress from side to side with her hands. She recalled her blaziken back since they weren't training at the moment. "You look great yourself! Wow, it's been years! How have you been? Why didn't you call? Why didn't you tell me that you were heading here? Shouldn't your first stop be at the pokemon league?" She posted a series of questions, her curious mind pondered on the possibilities to why he didn't tell her he was back. It was simple, he could have called. A part of her thought that Steven wanted to surprise her, another part of her thought that this is just a visit or a business trip.

Steven was a bit taken back by the sudden burst of questions, then again he supposed that he did owe her some answers as to why he didn't tell her he was heading back. But she owed him answers too! She never told him that she went into coordinating! Clearing his throat, he began to answer her questions, "Well. I wanted to surprise you by coming back. I did stop at the league first, someone told me that you would be at Lilycove so now here I am." He tapped his chin to think back to her questions, did he miss anything? Ah, right! She asked how he was doing! "Oh and I'm doing fine, thank you for asking." Politeness was in his blood.

May smiled at him, she opened her mouth to say something until grass head rudely interrupted her by butting in.

"Ahem." The smug boy cleared his throat afterwards to grab their attention. He walked over towards the pair while saying, "How rude of you May to leave me there."

"_Well_, he looked like he was in distress! I couldn't leave a friend hanging!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wow, those sure developed nicely while he was away. _Don__'__t stare! _He smacked himself mentally to keep his eyes above her shoulders.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" The grass head appeared calm, he had his hands in his jean pockets and kept a smirk on his lips.

Steven eyed him suspiciously before turning his attention back to May who seemed to be fuming. Why was she getting so worked up over him?

"Of course I am! I was about to bring him over until you so rudely interrupted." She stuck her tongue out at him before gesturing towards Steven. "This is Steven," she started before gesturing over towards the grass head and continuing on, "Steven, this is Drew."

"Pleasure to meet you Drew, may I ask how you're acquainted with May?" He offered a handshake to the boy who was just a bit shorter than him. Steven tried to be polite as possible, for May's sake, but what Steven _really _wanted to do was to rip this boy apart. How dare he touch her and anger her. He just wanted to smack him across the face, maybe even unleash the wrath of metagross too.

"We're rivals!" May interjected with a smile, nodding her head.

Drew nodded in agreement, taking Steven's hand and giving it a firm shake. "You must be the famous Steven she's always talking about." Grass head's grip on Steven's hand suddenly grew tighter. "How pathetic, you got beat by a rookie. Her first go and you're all down at your knees?" He laughed mockingly before releasing his grip.

Steven growled, crossing his arms over his chest and curling his fingers into a fist to suppress the urge to smack this boy to outer space.

"Hey! Don't talk to him like that!" May punched grass head on the shoulder, making Steven smile. "How many times have you beaten me in a battle?"

That question shut Drew right up, the obvious look of displeasure that appeared his face made Steven's smile grow wider.

"That's what I thought." May triumphantly smirked. "Anyway, thanks for the good luck Drew. And I'm sure beautifly will appreciate the rose." She twirled that thing around with her two fingertips.

Steven glared at it, thinking, _Roses are everywhere. It takes effort to find a precious stone._

"No problem, May. You need it." He flicked his hair to the side before taking his leave. "See you later, good luck beating me."

"You should call an ambulance ahead of time! 'Cause you're gonna get your butt whopped bad!" She used her hands to amplify her voice by having them in a cupped position at each side of her mouth. There was no response from grass head, he just continued walking until he disappeared from sight. May turned her head to face Steven, laughing nervously. "Sorry about that!"

"It's no problem, May." He gave her a reassuring smile before posing a question that had been long overdue, "Why did you decide to become a coordinator?"

A bit taken back by the sudden question and surprised that Steven found out, she shrugged her shoulders in response. "I don't know, I just thought it'd be fun to try it out." She pursed her lips, looking down at the floor before adding in, "Being champion isn't all that. I can see why you were so quick to leave the region."

He sheepishly scratched his head before replying back, "It's actually a bit more complicated than that."

"Oh yeah, huh. The thing about your dad." She almost forgot that his father wanted him to take over the company so he wanted to see the world before that happens. "Wow, all of the places you've been to. I'm curious to know what you've seen!"

"I took pictures," he blurted out. "I can show them to you!"

"Oh really? Yeah, I wanna see! You want to grab some dinner later? Maybe at like 8? We can catch up there and you can show me your pictures!" She offered, smiling from ear to ear.

Woah wait, did she just ask him out on a date? Or is it just a friendly hang out? Is it a date or a hangout? He wanted to ask her, but he feared for the answer to the question. Feeling his cheeks turn light pink, he nodded his head rapidly. "Yes! Of course!" Oh wait, that was too prompt. "I mean, sure. I have time for dinner." He coughed, fixing his necktie to appear cool.

"Great! There's this place called Anderson, it's a restaurant by the sea. I know the owners personally, they have great food!" She licked her lips, thinking of all the food they had. "Oh my arceus, Steven, they have this pecha berry pie. It's to die for!" She let out a satisfying sigh as she rubbed her stomach. "Mhmm and wait until you try their creamy pasta! Oh their original pasta with tomato sauce is good too! They put a lot of different herbs in it, mhmm. Ah and we can't forget about the gumbo! Oh their gumbo is superb!" As she listed off the various food items on the menu, Steven couldn't help but to chuckle at the girl. Same old May, ecstatic about food. "I really can't wait for dinner! I have to head back to training. See you there!" She ran out of the pokemon center to train with her pokemon.

"Bye, see you there!" He waved bye to her, smiling. He then went off to prepare for the night, he still has a few more hours until he has to meet up with her again later. Humming, he felt excited for their little date. Wait, was it really a date? Well, whatever it is, they are going to be alone together! That made Steven happy. He walked out of the pokemon center, about to fly back to his home in Mossdeep to pick out an outfit.

"Steven!"

He turned his head to see who called his name, it was a panicked Wallace running towards him. Before he could even react, the teal haired man collided with him causing them both to fall down to the pavement.

"Ouch! Wallace, what're you running from?" He rubbed his head in pain, wincing as he tried to sit up. He gave a sideways glare over at his friend who still looked panicked. The champion scrambled onto his feet and grabbed Steven's arm to pull him up forcefully.

"Quick, Steven! They're gaining on me! Pull out your skarmony! We need to get the hell out of here! Please!" Keeping a tight grip on the silver haired male's arm, he pulled away from the crowd of adoring fans.

Taking a glance back, he got an eye full of a hoard of people stampeding towards them with papers and pens. "My arceus Wallace, what in the world did you do?!" He quickened his pace, wanting to live another day to see May.

"Someone asked to see a contest move! I used to do contests, you know? Well then suddenly a crowd of people started to form! And then word got out that I'm Lisia's uncle then even more people started to come! Oh arceus, Steven, her fanboys are insane!" He let out an exasperated sigh. "If you think May's fanboys are bad, my arceus, wait until you meet the ones who root for Lisia!"He let out a frustrated groan, tugging his friend's arm with one hand while the other fumbled in his pocket for a pokeball. As they approached the beach, he finally managed to get a pokeball out and he threw it towards the sea. Out came a gyarados, waiting for them near the shoreline. "Forget your skarmony, you're too slow! Get on my gyarados and we'll head to Mossdeep!"

"Hey, it's hard trying to find his pokeball while I'm being chased around by screaming people!" He huffed, getting onto the serpentine's back with the help of Wallace and then riding away towards Mossdeep.

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><p>Finally, they arrived at Mossdeep safe and sound, away from screaming fans. They ended up relaxing at Steven's house. He poured a hot beverage for Wallace who was tired and thirsty after doing all that fan service.<p>

"Here you go." He gave him a mug of hot chocolate.

Wallace thanked him, taking a few sips before asking, "What about you? Not thirsty?"

"Nah, I have to figure out what I'm going to wear tonight." He couldn't help but to smile at the thought of spending more time with May.

"Oh, what's the occasion? A date with May?" Wallace's lips broke into a sly smirk, showing interest in his friend's love life.

"Dinner. At a restaurant called Anderson." He told him as he shifted through various dress shirts in his dresser.

"Wow! Anderson! It's a really ritzy place. It's been open for about a year now and it has gained so much popularity! Well, I saw it coming to be honest. They have excellent food, sublime service, and the brother of the owner is a famous coordinator! I think the brother's name is uhm, Drew."

His face paled. "Drew?"

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><p><strong>AN:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter c:. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**( A/N: **Alright this is where the T rating kicks in. Warning: Minor sex-related content ahead. **)**

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><p>"Oh yeah, yup. His name is Drew."<p>

Well, there are a lot of people named Drew. Surely there would be another famous coordinator with that same name and who was to say that the Drew he met today was famous?

"Hey man, can I turn on the television? I wanna make sure that the tv reporters caught me on my good side."

"Uh-huh, yeah sure." Steven pointed over towards where he kept the remote. It was hidden underneath a steel blue cushion on his dark brown couch.

Wallace grabbed the remote and turned on the tv.

"CHAMPION WALLACE SPOTTED AT LILYCOVE CITY, HE ENTERTAINED A CROWD OF PEOPLE, BUT THEN FLED FROM THE MASSES WITH _ANOTHER MAN_ IN HIS HAND. OUR SOURCES SAY THAT THIS STEEL HAIRED MAN WAS THE FORMER CHAMPION, BEFORE MAY. HIS NAME IS STEVEN STONE AND APPARENTLY HE JUST CAME BACK FROM HOENN AFTER TRAVELING THE WORLD. HE IS ALSO THE SON OF DEVON CORP'S PRESIDENT. RUMORS ARE FLYING ABOUT A POTENTIAL ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO MEN."

Wallace muted the television and turned his head over towards Steven who bursted out into laughter. "You watch this kind of stuff?" Wallace asked, surprised that Steven would be into celebrity gossip. He thought that the first channel that would be on right when he turned on the television would be the geology channel or something like that.

"Yeah, I find it hilarious." He smiled, walking over towards the couch. Perhaps he should unwind a bit first before looking for something to wear. It may be a good idea to get his mind straight and not fret.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned the sound back on, seeing that the report was now talking about May.

"MAY MAPLE, THE FORMER CHAMPION WAS SEEN AT THE POKEMON CENTER WITH DREW ROSE WHO GAVE HER A RUBY RED ROSE."

Wallace paused the screen and pointed at the screen, shouting out, "THATS HIM! That's the brother of the owner!"

Steven frowned, snatching the remote and turning the television off right away.

"Oh. _Oh_." At first he was surprised that Steven suddenly turned off the tv, but then he realized why. "Shit man."

"Yeah, I know. Shit." Frustrated, the silver haired male sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, it's okay. I'll come with you and intervene if he tries to mess with you. Don't worry. I got this." He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "I know how to keep a man entertained." He winked before getting up from the couch and going through Steven's dressers. "Now! We need to fix you up! We didn't even run that much, but you reek of sweat!" He swayed his hand from side to side in front of nose and wrinkled it in disgust. "You need a shower _bad_."

Steven raised his arms, sniffing himself before pulling away and frowning. "Yeah, on it." He grabbed a towel and left to the bathroom. He also picked up a few articles of clothing as well to wear afterwards.

"Oh wait! Steven!"

He stopped in his tracks, turning his head back to see what Wallace needed.

"Are you well groomed?" Wallace asked as he let go of the shirt he was holding onto, turning around to face him.

"Uhm," he started with a confused look on his face, unsure why Wallace would ask that. "Yes." He said with a bit uncertainty, not that he wasn't well groomed. He was just still confused on why in the world Wallace would ask! Of course Steven was well groomed!

"Oh no, I mean down there." He pointed towards Steven's crouch.

He took one glance down and then furrowed his eyebrows together and shook his head, frowning. "What?" His head extended forward as he was confused on why that would even matter.

"Come on, it can't be a coincidence that you come back right when May's legal." He rolled his eyes at him.

"It is! I finally found the soul dew by then and got a riolu!" Steven exclaimed. His intentions were pure! Really, he wasn't planning on establishing a sexual relationship with May - well he _wouldn__'__t mind _establishing one with her, but it just felt wrong to him. He wanted more than just that. He wanted an emotional connection with her too. He knew he felt something when he first met her, she was different than the others he had met. She had that twinkle in her eye. When he first met her in that cave at Dewford, he felt an odd fuzzy feeling in his stomach. He knew she was something special. The first time they rode on latios together to that island, he remembered how her arms felt around his waist. Her warm body pressed against his tightly with her face rubbing against his back gently. Her hair smelled like lavenders. He wanted latios to slow down so that they would spend more time together just like that. A smile crossed his face as that memory played in his head.

"Here you go, big boy." Steven was so rudely ripped away from that nice memory playing in his mind by Wallace who had handed him a bottle of lotion. "Don't be too loud."

He scoffed, throwing the bottle of lotion back at him. "Shut up!" Blushing that he noticed, Steven retreated into the bathroom and locked the door. He hung his towel and placed his clothes on the sink countertop before undressing. Stepping into his bathtub, he turned on the water and closed the shower curtains.

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><p>"That took a suspiciously long time." Wallace wiggled his eyebrows as Steven exited the bathroom, clothed in a black tee shirt and gym shorts. "What a rare sight, I'm honored to see that much skin." He joked.<p>

"Haha, don't act surprised. You've seen me in normal clothes before." He pretended to laugh, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, I think that those are pretty good outfits. Try them out. Took awhile to find stuff that didn't have purple on it." He let out a tiresome sigh, he gestured over towards the bed that had various suits piled on top of it.

"But I like purple."

"Change it up for May. She'll take notice and that will be a good thing."

"But I like purple."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it and I like white hats. Trust me on this, I know what women want."

"What do you know about what a woman wants?" He scoffed, shuffling through his dressers again to look for something better to wear. Something nice and purple.

"Lisia tells me all of her boy troubles."

Steven continued to shuffle through his dress shirts.

"She also talks to May."

He stopped, looking over at Wallace as he was suddenly interested in what he has to say.

"They're good friends. They talk about boys together." He took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Now that I have your attention, change into those and see which one you like." He got up from the couch and headed for the door. "I'll be back later, I gotta head back home to disguise myself. Don't want fans or reporters recognizing me on your big night." He left the house.

"Thanks, man. See you soon then." Since Wallace left, Steven started to undress and try on the outfits near his bed. Typically he always wore a red tie with a black and purple coat over his white dress shirt. He did have other coats and ties, but he typically didn't wear them unless he had to sit in a meeting for his father or go to an extremely important event related to business. He scratched his head, staring at himself in the full length mirror that was beside his dresser. It seemed so plain. Just black and white? He stared at himself with discontent, but reassured himself since Wallace apparently does know a thing or two. He decided to go with plain black and white, even though he did like the out fit with the white dress shirt, black tie, grey vest, grey coat, and matching grey dress pants. He'd keep that outfit in mind for date number two.

_Date number two._ He smiled, glancing over at the clock. He still had some time before he had to go back. It took only about half an hour to fly towards Lilycove on skarmony, he was fast. Oh wait, Wallace was coming too so that would mean skarmony would be a little slower to adjust for the extra weight. So it may take about forty minutes. He did the mental calculations in his head to see what time he should leave his house. Looking back at the clock again, he nodded. _Yeah, I still got time. _

He changed back out of the formal outfit and got back into his tee shirt and shorts. He didn't want to ruin his outfit before the big date so he'll change back into it later. Picking up the others that he didn't go with, he placed them back to their respective locations. He made tea while he waited for Wallace to come back. Rummaging through his cabinets, he saw that his dad had someone stock up his food supplies right before he came back. Smiling, he pulled out a can of tea leaves and opened it, taking a whiff. _Oh._ This was May's favorite. The Jasmine Dragon. A big smile crossed his lips as he thought back to the last time they had tea together. It was shortly after she stopped the meteorite. He had invited her back to his place.

_"You never cease to amaze me." Steven said with a smile on his lips as he carried two cups of tea over towards the couch. He sat down next to May, placing both cups on the coffee table in front of them. "Here, let me know if you need anything else." _

_"Thank you Steven!" She took the cup and held it in her hand gingerly, blowing on it softly before taking a sip. "Oh!" A smile broke onto her face as she looked back at him and exclaimed, "This is my favorite! The Jasmine Dragon!" She took another sip of it before letting out a satisfied sigh. "My parents like a different one, but my dad always bought this one just for me. I'm the only who drinks it. Well, actually, sometimes Max drinks mine. But he usually doesn't drink tea."_

_"Oh, you must have a tight nit family."_

_She laughed, shaking her head. "I'm actually only close with my brother and mother. My dad is always working so I rarely see him or spend time with him." _

_He nodded, smiling a bit because that was how his father was like as well. "Yeah, my dad too."_

_"So you're close to your mom?"_

_"Ah, uhm. No." He coughed, looking away from her as he scratched the back of his head. "She's...she's dead. I never got to know her." _

_She cupped her mouth with her hand and gasped. "Oh." Was all she could manage at the time. Her eyes saddened, she scooted over closer towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She squeezed them gently, leaning her body against his. "I'm sorry."_

_He laughed gently, "No. Don't be. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. I'm fine." He inhaled sharply, feeling his temperature rising as she came closer towards him. Woah, she was very close now. Her body pressed against his and her hands were squeezing his shoulders. Oh that felt nice to him, he looked over at her and gave a warm smile. "Thank you May."_

_She then wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly as her head pressed against his chest and she nuzzled against him. "If you ever need someone to talk with, you can always count on me." She stayed latched onto him, tilting her head up to look at him in the eye._

_He nodded, patting her on the head. "Thanks."_

_She released him from her grip, but still stayed close to him. Her body leaned against his on the couch. _

_"Do you...do you want to see her?" He asked hesitantly._

_She nodded eagerly before shaking her head and saying, "But only if you're willing! Or well, okay with it! I don't have to if it's painful for you!"_

_"Ah no. It's uhm. It's not painful for me." He got up from the couch and walked over towards his nightstand that was next to his bed. He grabbed one of the picture frames and brought it over to the couch. "Here." He handed it over towards May. _

_She took it and held it in her hands, there was a woman and man in the picture. She recognized the man to be Steven's father, now the woman next to him must be his mother. "She's beautiful." May uttered as her blue eyes took in the image of a woman wearing a a white tank top with a lilac cardigan and light blue jeans with a smile across her lush pink lips. She had beautiful long light blue hair, complimenting her silver eyes that shone like stars. "Wow."_

_"I know. I wish I got to know her." He sat back down on the couch, leaning over to look at the picture in May's hands. "My dad told me that she was an amazing woman." He tried to recall one of the stories that he told him. Burrowing deep in the inner depths of his mind, he struggled to remember a specific story. "Uhmm." He started, still thinking. "Oh!" He laughed a bit, thinking about it before reciting it to May, "There was a time when they were traveling through the Kanto region then they were suddenly ambushed by thieves. At that time they were only friends, but they were good friends. My dad wanted to protect her so he said, "I can deal with them, you go ahead of me." But then she told him, "And let you have all the fun? No way!" She stayed to battle by his side and they took down the band of thieves who ran out of there quick." He smiled, grabbing the picture from May's hands and holding it in his own. Looking down at it, he continued on, "That. That was when he knew she was something else. If she was willing to stick with him and deal with a rough situation like that rather than take the easy way out, then that was the girl for him." His finger brushed her face in the picture. _

Someone pounded on his door. Sighing, he placed the tea can onto the counter and walked over to open his door.

"Save a rapidash, son. Ride a cowboy." Wallace said in a thick southern accent, tipping his tan cowboy hat over his eyes and pulling his pants up by the belt buckle as he spaced out his legs. "What're you doin' still in 'em petty clothes?" The champion sported a white dress shirt that was in front of a black vest. He had a red handkerchief around his neck and brown chaps over his blue jeans.

He laughed at his accent, stepping to the side and inviting him in, then closed the door behind him once he came in. "I ain't gunna ruin 'em clothes. I meet her at sun down." He mimicked the southern accent just for fun. "But on a serious note, are they going to let you in looking like that? You said it was a ritzy place."

"Yeah, don't worry. This is just to get into the restaurant without anyone from the outside recognizing me. Then the hat, scarf and chaps come off and I change shoes in the bathroom. Boom, semi-formal. Good enough for the place." He gave him a reassuring pat on the back, holding up a small bag that carried his formal shoes and his beloved white hat.

"Oh sweet, okay then." He nodded his head.

"Okay now to fix you up. Your hair is a mess! Did you even brush it after you showered?" He placed his hands on his hips and huffed. "Steven, did you even pick out an outfit?"

"Of course I did! I put the others away. The one I'm going to wear is on the bed."

Wallace walked over towards the bed, grabbing the outfit and taking a look at it. From the corner of his eye he saw that Steven had a new picture next to the one with his parents. The new one was of May and Steven standing next to both of the eon pokemon. Judging by how young they both looked in the picture, it must have been taken after they defeated team aqua to rescue latias. He gazed at the picture momentarily before leaving the clothes back on the bed and walking over to Steven. "Now to get you date ready."

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><p>"Oh man, set sail Steven Stone dreamboat! Toot toot!" Wallace grinned at the stunning male specimen in front of him. Wow, he was sure a sight for sore eyes.<p>

Steven straightened out his tie after he got off of his skarmony. "Thanks buddy." He called him back then walked over towards Wallace.

"Come on! Give me a kiss!"

Was that May's voice? The two men looked over to their side, seeing May nearby the Anderson restaurant getting dropped off by a man who had sleek black hair. The boy gave a frustrated sigh before kissing her on the cheek.

"Wallace. Who's he?" Steven asked, frowning. He suddenly didn't feel like a dreamboat anymore, he felt as if a cannon just fired right at him.

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><p><strong>( AN**: Thank you for all of your support! I enjoy reading your reviews (:.

Unfortunately, sweet winter break is coming to an end! Chapters will be posted at a slower rate. Probably once a week now. Stay tune for the next chapter! Any guesses on this mysterious man? **)**


	4. Chapter 4

He squinted his eyes to try to get a better look at him. "Hmmm." He took a few steps closer until he saw that the boy wore glasses. "Oh! That's Max. You remember him, right?"

Steven breathed a sigh of relief, before adjusting his tie. He inched over towards Wallace, tapping him on the shoulder. "How do I look?"

"Like a hot bod!" He grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Go get 'em tiger!" He pushed his friend over towards May.

Smiling, he straightened out his tie for the last time before heading over towards May. She was saying her last goodbyes to her brother before he left on a flagon. May wore a sheer lace wine red dress that went down to her mid upper thigh. It had a scoop neck, exposing just enough of her collarbone to see. There was a thin black belt around her waist, her dress sleeves went down to her elbows. She wore black stockings or tights, he wasn't sure, on her legs and had red heels on that had a bow knot. She really has grown a lot since he last saw her. To think that she would have turned into such a stunning woman. Wow, Steven felt under dressed compared to her, even though they were both equally well dressed. He suddenly understood what Wallace meant by changing it up. She went out of her way to wear something that isn't what she normally wears. Instead of comfortable sneakers or flats, she opted for high heels - which he has heard, hurts like hell at the end of the night. He knew she only wore dresses for special events or if she's in a particularly good mood. He remembered her telling him that she prefers shorts or pants since it feels awkward to her when she tries to run in a dress. And this wasn't just any plain dress. He reminded May raving over lace dresses, but also telling him the ones she actually likes have to hand washed. Wow, she really tried hard for him. He felt horrible for even thinking of wearing his usual formal wear.

Gulping, he finally managed to stop staring and continue walking over towards her. He wasn't sure what to say. Slowly, he made her way over towards her as he continued to ponder on what he should say to this lovely lady in front of him. _Turn on your charm, Steven. You can do this. Just stay calm, don__'__t stare at her for too long. Keep your cool. Don__'__t be stupid. Don__'__t look like a creep. _

"Good evening May." He stood behind her, waiting for her to turn around.

"Steven!" She embraced him immediately, catching him off guard.

He felt her grip on him tighten, her head snuggled against his shoulder. As her head moved back and forth, he felt her hot breath against his neck making a shiver go down his spine.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." She immediately released him from her grip, shuffling back a bit to give him some space. "I just really missed you."

Was that a blush he saw across her cheeks? His eyes grew wide at the sight. He couldn't help but to feel a redness in his cheeks as well, she was just too cute for her own good. "I-it's okay." Damn, he stuttered. _Calm, cool and collected Steven. _He had to keep giving himself little pep talks otherwise he'll just be a nervous wreck, a mess. "I missed you too." He gave her a soft smile, thinking about patting her on the head. How would she interpret that if he did? Would she think that he only views her a friend if he did? He really wanted to pat her on the head. Well, he just wanted to touch her. Oh no, not in a perverted way! No, no! He just wanted to hold her in his arms, intertwine his fingers into her hair and get lost in her scent.

"Shall we go in, Steven?" She grabbed his arm and tugged it, pointing towards the entrance.

Before Steven could even reply, someone grabbed their attention by shouting out, "YO! Scamp and nerd!"

They turned their heads over to see a dark skinned male with a black "X" on his face making their way towards them. He wore a white tank top underneath his dark blue fleece jacket. As for bottoms he had dark blue jeans on and navy sneakers with white lace. He also had a blue bandana over his head that concealed his thick brown locks.

"Oh, Archie! I'm surprised to see you!" May clasped her hands together and dashed over, embracing him in her arms. He hugged her back, tightly, picking her up and swaying her from side to side.

Steven walked over, chuckling. He extended his hand for a formal handshake, even though he nearly destroyed the world they didn't cause any more trouble. "Good to see you again Archie."

"Awh, come here nerd!" With May in one arm, he grabbed hold of Steven and pulled him in for a big warm hug. "I haven't seen ya both for a real long time!" He hugged them tighter. "So much has changed for both of our teams! You wouldn't believe it! We opened up a restaurant!"

"Oh! So that was why you kept shooing me away and kept telling me that you were busy!" She looked at him, smiling with bright eyes.

"What?" Confused, he looked at Archie then back at May. "What's going on?"

Archie loosened his grip on the both of them, letting their feet touch the ground again. He was significantly taller and definitely more muscular than Steven. "Maxie and I put aside our differences to work together!"

"Yeah, I know that. May told me about that." Steven interjected, nodding as he straightened out his suit since it had been wrinkled by Archie.

"Well we decided to get together and open up a high class restaurant!" Archie told them, holding up a high head. He puffed out his chest with pride before gesturing over towards it. "We built a new building close to the sea, just right over there! You guys should come over and have dinner at our place!"

"Wow! We'd love to!" She smiled brightly at Archie before looking over at Steven and taking his hand into hers. "Right, Steven?"

How in the world could he say no to that face? "Of course!" It would also mean that they wouldn't have to face Drew.

"Great! Let's head on over. It's this way!" He started to make his way towards the beach, motioning for them to follow him.

"Come on, Steven! Let's try out their food! We can always go to Anderson's later on another day." She grabbed his wrist and tugged it, dragging Steven along to follow Archie.

He chuckled, letting her hold onto his wrist. He kind of liked it. However, looking over to the side, he saw Wallace putting his arms up in the air and shrug them. Steven motioned for him to follow them which he ended up doing so.

"Here we go!" Archie stopped and gestured to the restaurant in front of them. It was two stories high with a balcony view option as well. The building was colored white with a picture of a mightyena growling, next to it were the words "Mightyena's Bite" written in dark grey, the letters seemed to be italicized with jagged edges. "I really wanted to name it "Jewels of the Sea", but no. Maxie wanted name it, "Treasure Isle". We went back and forth, back and forth," he said, rolling his eyes. "We finally came to a compromise, since we both have a mighyena we decided to name our restaurant this."

"I like it!" May smiled, releasing Steven's hand from her grip since they had arrived.

"We actually require reservations to ensure a table, but we'll have an exception for you two." Archie winked at them both, ushering them towards the entrance. He opened one of the double doors for them, letting them in first before he went in. The floor was hardwood and the place was dimly lit. Mightyenas with bow ties around their neck and top hats walked around, leading people to their tables.

"May?"

There was a small table directly in front of them where two former team magma members acted as hosts. Tabitha was the one who spoke out, the other, Courtney was busy gesturing a couple towards a mightyena would direct them to an empty table.

"Oh hi! It's really nice to see you again after all this time!" May smiled brightly, giving him a big hug before hugging Courtney as well.

"What? Steven's not going to join in?" Tabitha whined, gesturing for him to come on in for a hug.

Wow, turning over a new leaf really made them super friendly. There were just way too many hugs going on. He reluctantly went in for a hug, only because May motioned him to.

After a few brief seconds, Archie broke it up by saying, "Alright, alright! These two kids are probably starving right now. What do you say that we give 'em a table under the stars?"

The two ex-magma members nodded their heads. Courtney motioned for a mightyena to come over, saying, "Lily…star." Then she pointed to May and Steven. The mightyena nodded her head, walking over towards the two. She sat down on all fours then bowed her head before standing on her paws and turning around. She looked back and used her head to motion for the two to follow before walking over towards the staircase, occasionally looking back to make sure the two were following.

"Enjoy your dinner!" Tabitha waved bye to them, Courtney did the same.

As the silver haired male and brunette female followed the mightyena upstairs to the balcony, a teal-haired fellow with a cowboy hat had been watching from the sidelines. Even though he probably wouldn't be needed since they weren't eating at Anderson's, he still wanted to spy on them. He cleared his throat before walking over towards the reception.

"Howdy. I'd like a table fer one at the balcony." Wallace said, sporting a southern accent.

"Oh? That is the our most popular request. I'll have to check the system to see if we have one open." Tabitha flipped through the pages of the notebook in front of him. "Hmm, I'm sorry. There's a twenty minute wait for the next available table up there."

"How'd them two get up there then?" He posed, still using his accent.

"They are old friends. I'm sorry. If you don't want to wait, you can reserve a table for tomorrow," he kindly informed him, flipping over one page to the next day in preparation while Courtney talked to others who also wanted to be seated.

"Oh there's no need for that sweet cheeks."

Wallace turned around to see a man with medium length wavy purple hair walk over. That man had a pointy green hat on his head with a purple tee shirt and a green coat over it.

"Reserved table for Harley. I usually eat a lone, but I'll help this poor man out. I can always use some eye candy." He wiggled his eyebrows as he pinched Wallace's upper arm. "Mhmm, me like. What do you say cowboy? It's a balcony seat!"

_Ugh, the things I do for Steven._ He nodded his head, tipping his hat to the strange fellow. "Yessir! I sure would love to join you."

Tabitha checked the reservation notebook to see if his reserve was there. Sure enough, it was. "Oh well, alright then. The table already has another chair there so uhm." He paused to gesture for a mightyena to come over. "Dakota dear, please show them their table under the stars. Table 21." The mightyena nodded before gesturing for the pair to follow him.

"Mhmm, cowboy you do make excellent eye candy! I just might even buy you dinner!" Harley winked at him. "What's your name, wrangler?"

"Wa-" He paused, deciding not to use his real name. He thought about it quick second before saying, "Walter."

"Walter! You don't look like a Walter, sugar. But whatever, tonight you're my babe." His arm snaked around Wallace's waist, pushing them closer together as they made their way to their table.

_Great, I have to deal with him and carry around these formal shoes. _He suppressed a sigh, wanting to be pleasant company. After all, the man was nice enough to let him in. _Well, maybe it won__'__t be so bad. _Don't get him wrong, Wallace does like men, but he wants someone nice and strong! Oh maybe like Brawley, but Wallace also wants someone who appreciate the arts. Someone strong, but also into beauty. Maybe someone a bit mysterious as well.

The mightyena let out a low bark, sitting down at all fours to signal that they had arrived at their table.

The two sat down across from each other, Wallace searched around to look for May and Steven. To his luck, they were at the table diagonal to them. He could see them at the corner of his eye. Smiling, he picked up the menu that was already there on top of the plate and shuffled through the selections.

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><p>"Drew! Where are you going?"<p>

The green haired male looked back to see his older brother look at him with curiosity.

"Got plans for the night?" His brother walked over towards him, wearing a white dress shirt and black dress pants. His hair was the same shade of green as his younger brother's, but shorter and gelled back. "Going out with May?" He smirked.

"No, I'm going to see Solidad." He placed on a dark denim jacket over his dark green v neck tee. "I'm thinking of asking May out on a date once the contest is over, but I don't know how to go about it so I'm meeting up with her to talk about it."

"Ooh, little brother finally making a move! Good for you!" He grinned, patting him on the back.

Blushing, Drew scoffed and shook his head "S-shut up!" He looked down to hide his blush. "I'm leaving now, don't make me dinner."

"Hahaha, alright. Have fun little bro!" Drew's brother waved him bye, watching him leave the restaurant through the backdoor.

Since Drew's denim jacket had a grey hood attached to it, he used to hide his face from people who could possibly recognize him. He already told Solidad what he was wearing so she could spot him. They had agreed to meet in front of a restaurant called Mightyena's Bite. Apparently Solidad managed to get a good deal there by advertising them at a contest she won.

He managed to get to the restaurant without anyone recognizing him, fortunately. He didn't want to rude to any fans who might ask him for autographs or anything, but he also didn't want to be late! So it was best to avoid the whole ordeal in the first place. Slipping through the doors, he took off his hood and walked up to the front where he found Solidad chit chatting with a host. He got her attention by tapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh! He's here now." She smiled at the host who motioned for a mightyena to come over.

"Perfect. Please follow Zeus, he will lead you to your table." The host, who was named Tabitha patted the mightyena on the head. "Table 22 on the balcony, dear."

"Thank you." Solidad and Drew said in unison before following the mightyena up the stairs.

"OH, DREWY-KINS! YOO-WHOOO!" Harley shouted when saw Solidad and Drew head over towards the balcony. He brought his hands close to his chest and squealed. "Now if only May-may was here!"

Since Harley had shouted that out, May turned around in her seat to see that Harley was there in the restaurant. Following Harley's gaze she saw Solidad and Drew as well.

Steven looked in the same direction as May, seeing that arrogant grass head head in with a woman next to him. _You have got to kidding me._ He groaned, sitting back in his seat with a hand to his forehead. _Why? _And to think that he just escaped this.

Wallace cupped his mouth, trying his best to hold in his laughter. Oh this was just too good, what were the chances of that? He stuffed his mouth with bread to keep him from breaking out into laughter.

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><p><strong>AN: Again, thank you for the reviews! c:. I hope you enjoyed this chapter ~ When I played the game, I always imagined Archie and Maxie coming together to open up a restaurant that's a surf & turf, haha. **


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